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American vs. European Beers
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American vs. European Beers The distinction between
American and European beers has always been one of taste. European beers are brewed to be stronger than the vast majority of
American commercial beers. Whether you’re talking beer, ale, pale ale or lager, American beer has always come in
lighter and milder in taste than the European brands. But with today’s advent of regional microbrewers, many American
beers are certainly approaching those European brews in strength. The countries in Europe most known for their beers are
Germany, England, the Czech Republic, and Belgium. English beers are often thought to be bitter by American tourists. The
English are fond of strong ales. To Europeans, most beer produced by the major American brewing companies, such as
MillerCoors and Annheiser-Busch seems watered down in comparison. Today there are almost two thousand craft brewers or
microbreweries in the United States, and although they don’t have the market majority, they are the ones taking
American beer to new levels. The problem is that the cost of importing is so high that European pubs serving smaller,
regional American beers and ales is not a possibility anytime soon. American brewing did descend from European roots. In
fact, Budweiser beer came from the Czech Republic, where the name in German for the Czech village, Budvar, is Budweiser. The
are many fine beers produced in the Czech Republic. Heineken is a Dutch beer that is available everywhere in the world.
Belgium itself has three hundred different types of beers brewed within its borders. The Europeans take their beer seriously,
something Americans used to do and now are starting to do again. Germany, with its famous beer festivals, has made a name for
itself brewing lagers. Scottish ales and stout from Ireland are both popular with American tourists. Beers from Sweden and
Scotland are not has well known but in those countries beer is separated in stores according to its alcohol content. For
instance, weak or medium strength beers only have one-percent and three-percent alcohol content by volume, but strong beer
can have over five percent alcohol. Strong beer is sold in liquor stores only while shops can handle the lowest strength
beers. Before Prohibition in the 1920s, there were thousands of small breweries in the United States. But when they all were
closed during Prohibition, most did not come back, giving a few breweries a chance to buy one another out until the greatest
percent of the beer market was controlled by three or four companies. It is this beer for which America is still known in
Europe. And, this beer has gotten weaker as more and more beer is made from the same amount of ingredients. As
microbreweries are competing more and more in the beer market, they are increasing in sales at a time when the major American
breweries are pretty much staying the same or decreasing in sales. The future of American beer is really in the hands of
these small, more localized operations who are creating beers and ales that are inventive and brewed with taste and quality
in mind.
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